Archive for the ‘kids do’ Category

It’s the same every year.  My girls can hardly wait for school to start.  They get a bit nervous, yes, but mostly the start of school is a fun time.  They love new clothes.  They love shiny new pencils and notebooks.  They love the productive routine of school and more time with their friends.

My son is a different story.  He does not do well with transitions.  He becomes surly, nervous and anxious in the week or so before school starts.

He hates giving up his fun (and lazy) summer days.  He dreads the structure and the need to sit still for hours each day.

He worries that his friends won’t be in the same class or that he won’t like his teacher.

One way to make the transition easier for my children is to have traditions- things we do each year- that get them ready for the big day.

Here are a few Back to School tradition ideas:

• Have a special family Back to School dinner the night before.  Talk about school.  Ask what the kids are excited about.  Encourage them to talk about what makes them nervous.  Some of the best conversations our family has are over food.

• Make getting school supplies a fun affair-  Every year my kid’s grandparents take them out to buy school supplies.  They look forward to spending quality time with them and getting just what they need to start the year.

• Our friends have a big neighborhood Back to School Movie Night under the stars party.  So fun.

• Make a time capsule.

• Lay out their nice first day of school outfit the night before.

• Make a yummy lunch and be sure to include an encouraging note.  My mom did that every year.  I don’t remember what she wrote… but I remember how her notes made me feel.

• Bake a batch of cookies hot out the oven for when the kids come home on the first day.  This is another tradition from my mom that I’ve carried on.  We talk about their day over a glass of milk and warm cookies.

And one last tip that really help kids get ready for school:

• Start the school bedtime routine about a week before school starts.  It’s a challenge for kids to transition from the late night bedtimes of summer!

School starts for us next week.  And those are a few simple things we’re doing to help the transition.

It seems that summer went by way too fast, but ready or not, here we go.

It’s more today about healthy teeth, as part of the Arm & Hammer Switch & Save Challenge.

A friend of mine has a saying when it comes to her kid’s teeth:

“Your teeth are mine until you leave home.”

AMEN to that!  With the sky high cost of dental care, it pays to do everything I can to take care of my family’s teeth.

A bad trip to the dentist can set you back a bundle, especially if you don’t have dental insurance.

My husband even threatened our kids once, when they lied about having brushed their teeth, “That’s OK he said, if you have a cavity, you can help pay for it.”  That sent them running for the bathroom to brush their teeth for REAL this time.

Here’s few strategies to keep your family’s pearly whites healthy:

• When your children are little, brush their teeth for them. Especially before bed, I brushed my children’s teeth until they were around 4 years old.  My mom, who had been a dental assistant, taught me to lay my child back so their head rested on my lap and brush.  That way you can really see what’s happening in their mouth.  Once you’re used to it, it becomes an easy part of your bedtime routine.

• Talk about how nice it feels to have clean teeth. Kids don’t often pay pay attention to little details like their teeth, but if you mention how nice if feels to have clean teeth often enough, they will eventually agree with you.  I love to say to my kids after brushing, “Oh I love how nice and smooth and clean my teeth feel, don’t you?”  It helps to have your kids WANT to brush their teeth because they like a clean mouth.

• Find a great dentist. Not all dentist are made alike.  My husband went to a dentist for years and loved him.  But, when his dentist got older and retired, he turned his practice over to his son.  On his first checkup with the son, my husband was surprised to hear that he had several cavities that needed filling.  My husband had never had a cavity in his life, even though he was an adult.  He scheduled a follow up visit to have the cavities filled, but when he got home he had second thoughts and made an appointment with a different dentist that had come highly recommended.  The dentist mentioned that he had some areas they wanted to watch, but other than that, his teeth looked healthy.  It was years before one or two of those “cavities” actually needed a filling.

• If you have thumb sucker older than three, try Mavala Stop.  Unfortunately my girls are going to need orthodontics. Between being on ventilators as tiny babies… and then thumb sucking, both changed the shape of their mouth.  I couldn’t do a thing about the ventilators, but thumb sucking was another matter. My girls had health problems and had a lot of pain as babies, so I was grateful for anything that brought them comfort.  But by the time they were three, thumb sucking had worn out it’s usefulness and it’s welcome.  One of our girls stopped by herself when we told her that big kids going to preschool don’t suck their thumb.  But my other daughter was hopelessly addicted to her thumb.  Luckily, an orthodontist friend told us about Mavala Stop.  We ordered it from Amazon and when it arrived, I painted her thumb nail with the bitter solution.  In one weekend, she broke the habit.  We only hope that little bottle of Mavala Stop will help save us money on orthodontics!

• LIMIT soda and candy. Even diet soda is acidic, which can break down the enamel of your teeth.   DANG!  I love Cherry Coke Zero and Diet Dr. Pepper, maybe I just need to use a straw. Would that help?

• Provide flossing picks to make flossing easier for your kids… and for adults.

When my mom was a girl and they couldn’t afford toothpaste, they always brushed with straight baking soda.  I’d rather use Arm & Hammer Baking Soda Toothpaste, if I can help it.  Arm & Hammer provides a free sample if you click here.

One last money saving tip for teeth.  If you have an accident that breaks a tooth or teeth, check with your health care insurance first.  My husband shattered two teeth this past season in a skiing mishap and we were faced with a BIG dental bill for root canals and porcelain crowns.  On a recommendation, we check our health insurance.  We were surprised to find our insurance covered accidents that occur to sound natural teeth.  It was a relief to have some of the bill covered by insurance.

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This is a sponsored post for Church & Dwight Co., Inc, the maker of ARM & HAMMER branded products, who is paying me to try different products. Sign up for a free sample of Advance White Brilliant Sparkle Toothpaste. And then head over to The Switch & Save Challenge to keep up with all of the bloggers and enter to win $25,000.